Iran opens rehab centre for alcohol addicts

Iran has opened the country's first state-run rehabilitation and treatment centre for alcohol addicts, an official said Sunday.

The centre was launched at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in response to an increase in alcohol use among the Iranians, Xinhua reported.

Non-governmental organisations have already opened centres for providing treatment services to the addicts but this is the first centre which is established by the government to provide consultatory and treatment assistance for those suffering from alcohol addiction, the official said.

In February 2013, Iran's police chief Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam said that there are about 200,000 alcohol addicts in the country.

The law bans alcohol for Muslim citizens in Iran.

Despite prohibition, there is still widespread alcohol use across the country.